Is the fear of being seen holding you back? by Jo Shipley

Are you very good at coming up with great ideas – and then equally good at thinking of ten reasons why not to action them?

You are not alone.

I did this recently with my Substack page. I wanted to start my subscribers’ package, so I started researching the best examples of subscription models and how other Substack writers managed their accounts.

Within two minutes of reading other people’s opinions, I was down the rabbit hole. Half thought this, the other half suggested something else, and many were simply regurgitating ChatGPT.

Their ‘help’ had me in utter confusion, and I now had several big, major obstacles that I had to overcome. But phew, it was OK – I could join their paid subscriptions to be able to solve this problem!

My head hurt, so I put down my phone and went and had a cup of tea. I realised that I had just given my power away to a bunch of people I didn’t know.

So, instead I sat down at my computer, turned off my AI, and wrote from the heart. I let my obstacles rise organically – after all, these were my obstacles, not someone else’s.

The first thought I had was that I would fail. Who would want to read my work? Why go to all this bother if no one reads it?

I nearly turned off the computer – but I knew it was just a thought. I have written great work before. Why wouldn’t people want to read it?

So, I dug a bit deeper… and realised that it wasn’t the technical difficulty of writing. It was the fear of visibility.

Ahh, that old chestnut.

The fear of being seen is so prevalent in many of my clients. It is a debilitating, self-sabotaging fear that stops us in our tracks.

The fear of being seen.

If this fear resonates with you, it may be worth asking: Why AM I scared of being seen? What is the underlying fear beneath it all?

Maybe it’s the fear of criticism. Fear of conflict. Maybe there are past experiences where you were told you weren’t worthy enough, that your opinion didn’t matter, or where you were shut down. Maybe you remember a time when you gave the wrong answer and were told you were wrong.

All these experiences compound and sit vibrationally in our energetic field as negative energetic blocks. When the opportunity to be seen and heard comes around, these energetic ‘bubbles’ containing negative thoughts are activated in our field.

Many people overcome these energetic blocks through sheer will and determination. This is why, sometimes, even when you have fought through your fear to achieve and succeed, there is a returning, crushing self-doubt that stays with you and requires management every time you want to put yourself forward.

It becomes very tiring having to fight your way through.

Energy work with qualified therapists can help clear these blocks and remove them for good.

When you can identify the thought underneath the obstacle, you can start to explore it.

Is it actually true? Where did it come from? Is it still relevant? And what would happen if you chose to think differently?

I knew that my Substack obstacle wasn’t really about Substack at all.

It was about me being seen and my value. About putting my ideas out into the world and allowing other people to have an opinion about them.

Once I realised that my worth was not dependant on other people’s opinions, and that I could trust and believe 100% in myself, the obstacle became much smaller.

Because sometimes, the only thing standing in your way is a negative belief that can be changed.

If you would like to learn more about clearing stuck energy blocks and negative self-beliefs, I’d love to help. Please get in touch.

If you’d like support working through any emotional and physical issues using energy-healing practices, I offer healings online or in person in my Canberra therapy rooms.

Enjoying this content? Tune into my Wellness Valley Podcast, where I speak to inspirational healers and share stories of hope, wellbeing and personal growth (available on Spotify, Amazon and my website) and on my Wellness Valley Substack.

Find Jo Shipley at linktr.ee/joshipley